Muşata Bocoş, Oana Raluca Baciu Educatia 21 9/2011...

Muşata Bocoş, Oana Raluca Baciu Educatia 21 9/2011

PROMOTING INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION THROUGH ESTHETIC EDUCATION

1

Promoting intercultural education through esthetic education

Muşata Bocoş Oana Raluca Baciu

Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania



2

Abstract

Taking UNESCO’s proposal ‘learning how to live together’ as a starting point, we examined to

what extent visual education can be used as a tool to promote the aims of intercultural education. We

analyzed the power of using artistic images from different cultures to change pupils’ perception of

cultural differences, thereby facilitating the development of attitudes of respect towards different

ethnic/cultural groups. We also investigated to what extent this strategy could contribute to the integration

of minority peers into a majority group. Pupils were assigned to either an experimental or a control group.

The experimental treatment consisted of exposing students to several art object images associated with

different cultures. Our measurement instrument was based on an adapted version of the ‘Draw-A-Person-

Test’, which we have called the ‘Draw-Two-Persons-Test’. We also used a questionnaire to examine

attitudes among subjects

Key words: interculturality, esthetic education, social inclusion, active and interactive methods.

Zusammenfassung

Wir haben den Vorschlag von UNESCO als Ausgangspunkt genommen “lernen zusammen zu

leben”, haben untersucht in welchem Mass die esthetische Bildung als ein Instrument für die Förderung

der interkulturellen Bildungsziele funktioniert. Wir haben die Kraft analysiert, künstlerische Bilder aus

unterschiedlichen Kulturen zu benützen, um die Wahrnehmung der Schüler zu verändern bezüglich der

kulturellen Unterschiede, was die Entwicklung von Respekt gegenüber bestimmter ethnischer Gruppen

angeht. Wir haben ebenfalls untersucht, in welchem Mass diese Strategie bei der Integrierung der Schüler

der Minderheitsgruppen in eine Mehrheitsgruppe beitragen kann. Die Schüler wurden in eine

experimentelle Gruppe und in eine Kontrollgruppe aufgeteilt. Das Experiment bestand darin, die Schüler

mehrerer Bilder auszusetzen, Kunstgegenstände unterschiedlicher Kulturen. Das Messinstrument stützt

sich auf eine angepasste Version des Testes: Draw-A-Person-Test – Zeichnung eines menschlichen

Wesens, den wir neu benannt haben: Draw-Two-Persons-Test – Zeichnet zwei Personen. Wir haben

ebenfalls einen Fragebogen benützt, um die Einstellung der Teilnehmer zu untersuchen.

Schlusselwörter: Interkulturalität, esthetische Bildung, soziale Einschliessung, aktive und interaktive

Methoden.



3

Promoting intercultural education through esthetic education

I. Introduction

The article proposes a theoretical framework and a practical presentation of developing

and promoting intercultural education through esthetic education in school.

Intercultural education oscillates between a problematic of knowledge objectives and an

issue that concerns intersubjective relations. At the cognitive level, the contributions of

knowledge revealed by classical disciplines, the cultural and social anthropology and social

psychology, it refers to the deconstruction of stereotypes and prejudices. At the behavioral level,

the teacher is faced with situations involving conflict negotiation values, codes of conduct.

Overcoming these conflicting situations, new avenues open for the assertion of freedom,

individuality and open multiple identities. 'Intercultural education contributes on the one hand,

the renovation practices within school and, on the other hand, the social dynamics of the

neighborhood, developing the exchange of knowledge between partners, creating a sudden

demand and a choice in education. Also, it must be said that its objective is a global educational

project and not one specifically for a particular public culture: it responds to ethical and political

demands.' (Munoz, 1999, page 26)

Intercultural orientation in education involves the implementation of several sizes or types

of pedagogy:

- A pedagogy centered on education, which is part of the diversity of public school

appearances;

- An active and interactive pedagogy, which involves an anchor in reality and an openness

to environmental circumstances in which they learn;

- A pedagogy that takes into account life-centering and develop competence in

communicating in intercultural perspective.

At the same time, methodological, this pedagogy is based on (Munoz, 1999, page 25):

- Pedagogy project, which fosters the interdependence between group members to achieve

cooperation in connection with a common goal:



4

- Type action research methodology, for which targets are most relevant practices aimed at

transforming devices based on active-interventionist and not a passive device,

observation-research;

- Develop a partnership within the education system (the teachers of educational

institutions, between teachers of different origins, researchers), but also in

connection with the environment (parents, associations, libraries, culture houses,

municipal courts);

- Establish effective exchange, from correspondence school to travel abroad;

- Stronger involvement of the interdisciplinary, through the relationship of several sets of

knowledge and values originally purchased separately.

People are not accustomed to accept the idea that they are different in terms of constituent,

that can not all be aligned to the same standard of value and feel guilty for it. In turn, other

individuals disapprove or exclude those who are different. Mutual tolerance and mutual

understanding can be made by prior education and respecting otherness. Intercultural education

is in this sense, a trail of prime importance, from a logic of 'mono' to a logic of 'inter'. (Rey,

1996, pages 47-48). To accept otherness and interdependence, to create conditions of expressing

the personality of another, to set up a joint behavior is a new 'Copernican revolution' which

education is required to achieve. Education conducted to a prospective of 'inter' would include:

Promotion of educational and legislative policy based on open, lax school

regulations;

Coordinate functional different institutions with educational purposes;

Intercultural reconvertion of teaching materials and curricula;

Rethinking school organization (recruitment and assignment of students, structuring

of schedules, of school year, of procedures for the conduct of activities);

Improve the relational climate in the classroom and school;

Imposition of realistic educational priorities;

Increasing non-scholastic activities;

Teacher education from an intercultural perspective;

Concludin all international relations.



5

The meeting and the dialogue of cultures, despite the distances separating them in time and

space are inevitable and, in many cases, problematic and complex. It is possible to find many

dysfunctional effects such as mutual adaptation failure, ambiguity of identity or behavior, denial

and poor perception of difference. The problem of coexistence of different cultures in the center

of the same company is the opinion of many, a rather disconcerting challenge between present

and future.

The person who gets into another cultural horizon will see the face of an alternative

perception of reality, a set of specific cultural views of time and space, a different way of relating

to each other. In this situation, common symbols must be harnessed, like the cultural elements

that make a breakthrough and can facilitate the 'switch' from one world (with its values) to

another, richer and more permissive to the heterogeneous values. Mutual understanding is

necessary for the negotiation of common reference system between the exchange partners. The

common elements can convert into media in order to catalyze the integration process.

II. Intercultural education objectives

Intercultural education aims to prepare individuals and companies for closer opening to the

cultural dimension of their existence. With increasing contacts and possible interactions, we can

detect two major sets of objectives of the intercultural school:

- Preservation and protection of cultural diversity of school population. School, as an

instance of transmission of values, will focus on the cultures plurality that multicultural

environment requires it. It must be avoided training the primacy of a culture over another. This

objective involves two aspects: on the one hand, aiming to bring education to their environment,

region, city or its particular culture, with all features, on the other hand, this type of school aims

to provide education to environmental adaptation conditions for the coexistence of several

cultural groups. It concerns both family cultures and the surrounding ambient. It must be ensured

that school does not devalue one culture or another in the name of explicit relativisms.

- Preservation of the school unit. Intercultural school specificity regarding assimilation or

multiculturaliste attitudes, is that she refuses to remain closed in false alternative, promulgating

joint culture version, cultural interaction. As a tool for the transmission of cultural heritage, this

type of school seeks to privilege all environmental cultures, to highlight all in their specific



6

differences, with their indispensable wealth. Civilization built by school is not presented as a

fixed entity with a permanent structure. School present or transmitted culture is required to be

understood in a dynamic, outstanding perspective. (Hannoun, 1987, pages 110-112).

These two sets of objectives allows concrete specifications in concrete intercultural

behavior, such as (Cozma T., 2001, pages 46-47):

1. Openness to another, to unusual. This opening is difficult, because it obliges us to

test our trust in ourselves, our own vision of the world. But this questionableness

is an indispensable prerequisite for the ability to live new experiences.

2. The ability to perceive what is different to us. We use to arrange what is foreign to

us after own reading rubrics, not to perceive other but in the normal way to feel or

think.

3. Accepting the other as another. In the encounter with otherness, we wont to

portray the other as similar or identical or to perceive the other as an enemy and

remove it.

4. Living ambiguous, ambivalent situations. Ambivalent statements confuse us. We

do not want any ambiguity. It causes us fear. These feelings may constitute the

preamble acceptance of difference.

5. The positive ability to experience. In general, we pretend recipes, well-established

rules. Just so we feel safe. It is possible to get closer to each other having the

courage to experiment and explore different existential ways.

6. Driving out fear from each other. Xenophobia is the oldest part of the dowry that

history has sent to us. This fear has to disappear to get another.

7. The ability to question their own rules. The look to another is determined by

socio-cultural referential system which conduct our behavior. As we prove unable

to recognize the relativity of our own system of reference, so we remain blind and

insensitive to others.

8. Non-acceptance of utopia 'egalitarian communicative discourse'. In case of

interests divergence, we should not yield to the principle that the powerful one

shows his strength in front of the weak. Instead, discussion should continue until

the two sides find themselves in a common project.



7

9. Ability to take conflicts. There are two types of conduct in case of divergence of

interests: to refuse to see reality, putting it into brackets, and to make difference in

hostility. Conflicts should be taken calmly and resolved in a productive manner.

10. Ability to recognize and relativize their socio-ethno-centrist guidelines. That does

not mean to deny your own traditions, but to transform them into something

absolute.

11. The performance to win wider identities, to develop a new type of loyalty. We

should not give up to our identity, but we must accede to other types of broader

identities such as the European citizen of the world etc.

Intercultural education derives from inequality in socio-cultural relations that characterize

European society and their repercussions on education, having a positive and crucial role in the

enthronement of justice and equality. An important contribution in disseminating the idea of

inter-cultural and awareness of policy makers from the international topic has had The

Intercultural Council of Europe. In this respect, education and culture is under the authority of

The Cooperation Council, which aims:

To disseminate knowledge of all member states and ideas and techniques of

cultural diffusion;

To establish cooperative relationships among educators throughout Europe;

To sensitize the populations of Europe on common spiritual dowry, suggesting the

corresponding obligations of all to these elements;

To establish a climate of active understanding and respect for cultural qualities of

each group.

III.Promoting intercultural education through estethic education

Intercultural education is a promoted value in both EU and the Romanian education. It

implies respect, tolerance, acceptance of diversity and a friendly attitude.

Education for the future means, in view of the Commission of UNESCO for education in

this century:

learning to know;



8

learning to learn;

learning to be;

learning to live together.

Intercultural education could take many forms, take several directions: ethnic, religious,

professional, social etc. In this paper we address the promotion of intercultural education through

esthetic education.

Eesthetic education is the process of training and development of human personality

through the reception, evaluation and creation of beauty in nature, society and art. The core of

esthetic education is artistic education, which has a narrower scope, operating only with the

beauty of art.

Esthetic education should not be confused with artistic education.

a) in terms of content:

- esthetic education has a broader scope that includes the beauty of nature, society and art,

- artistic education aims only beautiful works of art.

b) in terms of aims:

- esthetic education aims at training esthetic responsiveness and creativity,

- artistic education aims the development and cultivation of creative skills in methodical

records specific to each art.

c) in terms of development forms:

- esthetic education is conducted in the form of theoretical and applied work,

- performing artistic education is more a practical-applicative form activity.

Eesthetic education desiderata can be divided into two groups:

- goals that are considering forming ability to perceive, to learn and use aesthetic values in

a appropriate way;

- goals which aim at developing the capacity to create new aesthetic values, esthetic

cultivation of creative skills.

Development and aesthetic and artistic education behavior aimed three levels:

- sensory level - the ability to respond to aesthetic and artistic values,

- the emotional level - experience of artistic creation and esthetic values,



9

- the cognitive level - the act of artistic knowledge and esthetic significance of the work art.

The process of aesthetic behavior education involves: developing the capacity to perceive

the esthetic and artistic; learning esthetic and artistic language to be used in the act of

communication and reception of the content of the artwork; encouraging and guiding the

development of creative artistic skills; practicing the beauty in life, in school teaching

environment and in human relations.

Aesthetic education principles

We distinguish:

- the principle of esthetic education through authentic values;

- the principle of deep and creative perception of works of art and aesthetic values in

general;

- the principle of uniform perception of content and form;

- the principle of understanding the contextual location of the aesthetic phenomenon.

a) The principle of esthetic education through authentic values.

Through esthetic education we aim to develop the capacity to produce esthetic values. In

this way esthetic tastes are formed, which provides the individual the possibility of selection in

the esthetic universe and targeting in an axiological sense, training in the esthetic education and

the esthetic content and esthetic manifestations of human life. Educators are recommended to use

those esthetic values which came in the final national and world heritage.

b) The principle of deep and creative perception of works of art and esthetic values in

general.

The perception of art works and esthetic values refer to the personal ability to understand a

work of art or aspects of them; using knowledge or artistic or esthetic emotion itself; in a creative

sense through: the creation of esthetic values, or enrich their esthetic education.

c) The principle of uniform perception of content and form.

Unitary perception underline the fusion of intellect and affection, which causes esthetic

revelation. This principle calls on educators to carry out complex analysis through which to



10

reveal the form and content of a specific work, the correlations between them and the unitary

character of equilibrium.

d) The principle of understanding the contextual location of the esthetic phenomenon.

This principle recommends to know as thoroughly as possible correlations between work,

author and social-historical conditions. It asked to address the knowledge and appreciation of

works of art at an interdisciplinary level.

IV. Experiment presentation

We intended to connect three general issues, which emerge from the global process of

interculturality:

1. the need for an intercultural attitude;

2. the need for improved relations between the host society and ethnic/cultural minority

groups;

3. the use of art education as a tool to promote the aims of intercultural education.

In our research, we focused on the analysis of student attitudes in two multicultural groups.

We examined attitudes towards minority peers during art activities as well as the effects of an

experimental treatment on one of these groups.

Methods

In our research, we examined to what extent using art education can:

(1) promote respect between different ethnic groups;

(2) contribute to the integration of ethnic minority students in classrooms.

We examined:

(A) to what extent students’ analysis of artistic images from different cultures could

influence their own perception of cultural differences, thereby facilitating the development of

attitudes of respect towards different ethnic/cultural groups;

(B) to what extent this strategy could contribute to the integration of minority peers into a

majority group.



11

For the purpose of our research, we selected a public school with a multicultural

population, two 5th grade classes. The classes were similar with respect to several variables,

namely age (mean age of students was 11 years), ethnicity (both classes contained the same

percentage of ethnic minority students), gender (44% female and 56% male) and their art

teachers were similar in age, training, professional experience and style of teaching.

We developed a quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups.

Operating under the assumption that children’s drawings can be viewed as psychological

projective instruments, comparisons were made by means of a pretest and post-test, based on

Goodenough (1926), Harris (1963) and Machover’s (1965) ‘Draw-A-Person-Test’. This test was

later adapted by Roer-Strier (2001) by introducing drawings of two persons on the same sheet of

paper. We have called this adapted version of the test the ‘Draw-Two-Persons-Test’. Although

the ‘Draw-a-Person-Test’ has been used for psychological evaluation, the adapted version has

been used by for cross-cultural comparison. This was also the purpose of our research.

Both the experimental and control groups were told (separately) to draw a person from

their own ethnicity and one from another ethnicity on the same sheet of paper to the best of their

ability and in the way they most preferred. Subsequently, the experimental group participated in

the experimental treatment during ten sessions of 90 minutes each. The experimental sessions

consisted of analyzing several art object images belonging to different cultures through an

aesthetic approach, in which various core art elements have been identified. After the

experiment, the same test was, once again, given to both groups using the same instructions that

were used during the pre-test.

Finally, we developed and applied a questionnaire in the experimental group, in which we

investigated to what extent minority peers had been integrated into the majority group.

In the experimental sessions, students were invited to analyze the most important regions

of their country, their cultural and artistic expressions. For this purpose, we made presented

posters, slides, videos, original art objects and ethnic music. We also invited the students’ parents

and older students. Some parents who attended a session were wearing ethnic traditional clothes.

We also invited several representative personalities from different ethnicity to present traditions,

culture and art of their own ethnicity. These events became important for the students, according

to their questionnaire responses.



12

Results

In order to avoid subjectivity in the analysis of the drawings, we focused on measurable

differences between the pre-test and post-test. This analysis identified six aspects where

significant differences could be found:

1. Drawn persons’ area

Analysis: In the Experimental group, there were no differences between the area used to

draw persons during pre-test and post-test measurements, while such differences did emerge in

the control group. The area relegated to drawings of other ethnicity persons decreased

significantly in the latter condition.

Interpretation: Children tended to allocate more space for objects they deemed

more important.

2. Distance between drawn persons

Analysis: The distance between drawn persons increased significantly in both groups.

Interpretation: The distance between drawn persons indicated low self-esteem and

insecurity regarding others.

3. Ethnicity

Analysis: the experimental group accentuated ethnic aspects more in the posttest when

drawing persons from other ethnicity. The drawings by the control group of different ethnicities

showed mostly indistinguishable characteristics.

Interpretation: The artistic approach associated with different cultures led students to

understand and respect cultural diversity.

4. Drawn persons’ position on the sheet of paper

Analysis: The drawings of the experimental group showed that other ethnicity persons were

placed on the right side of the sheet in the post-experimental condition. There was no movement

in the placement of persons in the control group.

Interpretation: A person drawn on the right side of the sheet suggests that the author placed

this person in his/her near environment.



13

5.Distinguishing features on the drawn persons’ clothes

Analysis: The experimental group kept these distinguishing features on the drawings of

other ethnicity persons’ clothes, while the control group removed some.

Interpretation: The manner in which persons were drawn points to the influence of the

environment on the child.

6. Distinguishing features on the drawn persons’ heads

Analysis: The Experimental group kept these distinguishing features on the drawings of

other ethncity persons’ heads, while the control group tended to remove them.

Interpretation: The artistic approach of different cultures contributed to an increase in the

value students placed on the importance of learning about those cultures.

All six variables identified above suggested that individuals in the experimental group

developed more respect for each other, as well as for different ethnic groups and diversity in

general. The results also suggested that this group had developed intercultural attitudes.

However, with respect to the variable ‘distance between drawn persons’, the results seemed not

to correspond with the other results associated with the experimental condition. We think that

this specific result is due to the way curricular art classes are designed, where students are taught

to organize the sheet using similar spaces between graphic elements.

The responses to the questionnaire suggested that 80% of the experimental group appeared

to enjoy the approach adopted to learn about other cultures. Sixty per cent of these students

admitted that, before the experiment, they held inaccurate beliefs about other cultures and that,

after the experiment, they had changed their perceptions. Sixty-five per cent stated that the

experiment had changed class interactions for the better and 80% believed that intellectual ability

was the same among various ethnic groups. Ninety per cent of the students recognized the

importance of an art based approach to ethnic and cultural diversity in changing their

perceptions.



14

Examining and combining the results of both measurement instruments led to the

following conclusions:

1. The experimental group changed its attitude into a more intercultural one.

2. No discriminatory attitudes were found among the experimental group, and this group

appeared to be open to diversity at school.

The results suggested that there were significant differences between the pre- and post-tests

of the experimental group and between the post-tests of the experimental and control groups.

These results demonstrated that art-based education may contribute to the development of

students’ attitudes regarding respect towards different ethnic/cultural groups. The results also

revealed that stereotypical and other negative influences stemming from the broader community

could be addressed by the kind of art-based educational approach we tested here.

V. Conclusions

Aesthetic education has a very important role in intercultural approach, but not limited to

it. We believe that its role is not yet appreciated at its true value. A new curricular approach

would be necessary in this respect, that emphasize aesthetic education.

We conclude that these approaches can contribute to the future of the motto – 'learning to

live together'.



15

References:

1. Cozma, Teodor (2001) Locul educaţiei pentru diversitate în ansamblul problematicii

educaţiei contemporane, în O nouă provocare pentru educaţie: interculturalitatea,

editura Polirom, Iaşi.

2. Goodenough, F. (1926) Mesurement of intelligence by drawings (Chicago, World Book

Company).

3. Hannoun, Hubert (1987) Les Ghettos de l’ecole. Pour une éducation interculturelle,

ESF, Paris.

4. Machover, M. A. (1965) Dessin d’un personnage: Méthode d’investigacion de la

personalité, in: H. H. Anderson & G. H. Anderson (Eds) Manuel des Techniques

Projectives en Psychologie Clinique (Paris, Editions Universitaires).

5. Munoz, Marie-Claude (1999) Les pratiques interculturelles en éducation, în J.

Demorgon, E.M.Lipiansky (coord), L’école confrontée à la diversité culturelle, în

Guide de l’interculturel en formation, Tetz, Paris.

6. Rey, Micheline (1996) D’une logique mono à une logique de l’inter. Pistes pour une

éducation interculturelle et solidaire, Cahier no 79, FPSE, Section des Sciences de

l’Éducation, Université de Genève.

7. Roer-Strier, D., Weil, S. & Adan, H. (2001) The unique and the unifying: children

narratives of cultural differences, paper presented at the 11th EECERA Congress,

Alkmaar, The Netherlands, September.

Muşata Bocoş, Oana Raluca Baciu Educatia 21 9/2011...

Documents

Transcript of Muşata Bocoş, Oana Raluca Baciu Educatia 21 9/2011...